"A local person was hiking with his grandson, they got lost in the woods, got turned around in the wooded area, and discovered some human remains," Hanley said.

Authorities still are working to determine the cause, manner and date of Shin's death. Investigators are trying to reconstruct her activities between Virginia and Vermont to learn more details. Police say there was no indication Shin had been involved in illegal activity.

Police are sifting through Shin's text messages and computer records, which are in Korean, Hanley said.